Stand by Me
by kaystrife
Summary: Zack was a rebellious teen at school. But upon meeting Cloud, who was a new kid and his tutor, Zack experienced something unbeknown to him. A story about two teens overcoming their miserable pasts and discovering their true-selves. AU/yaoi/ZackxCloud.
1. Chapter 1

**Stand By Me**

A/N: Hi everyone! This is kaystrife. You can call me kaystrife or kay or whatever you like as long as the name doesn't hurt my feelings. As you can see from my profile, I'm from Hong Kong and English is not my mother tongue. I've been trying really hard to learn English and recently I've gathered up the courage to write fanfic in English! Weeeeeeeeeeee. Each chapter will be short though because it's quite hard for me to write in English.

I'm now obsessed with Zack and Cloud (especially Zack, I love him yay!) and so my first English fanfic is a ZxC one! I hope you guys can tolerate my bad English and I promise I will try my best to improve it. Now seat back and enjoy the very first chapter! Oh, and don't forget to review 0u0!

Warnings: In this fic, boys are gonna be romantically attracted to boys. Leave this page and fly to the mars if you cannot accept gays. Contains strong language, violence, and may contain adult scenes in late chapters, so rated M for safety.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. But I own the plot.

Chapter 1

Zack was wakened by the repeating discordant noise of the alarm clock. He removed the sheet covering his head, and regretted promptly as the sun greeted his eyes. After rubbing the hurting orbits for a while, he got used to the ambient light intensity and reopened his eyes to check the time on the digital device nearby.

7:56 A.M, just 9 minutes before the first lesson started.

_Damn._

With a deep frown on his face, he turned off the alarm and got out of his bed reluctantly.

The winter break had ended three days ago, yet Zack wouldn't have noticed it if he didn't receive a call from Kunsel last night. He was calling to ask Zack if he was okay since he didn't appear in the class. Zack just explained to his friend that he had forgotten the start date of school.

The frown deepened as he recalled his memories. How could he have forgotten that? Not that he really cared about missing any lecture; He paid no attention to the teaching at all. He just didn't want to get into any troubles again. The school principal had already warned Zack of serious disciplinary actions if he broke any school rules once more.

Well, he had to face it anyway. What's done was done.

Putting all the negative emotions aside, Zack walked towards the mirrored closet and stretched his muscles which had tensed up after a night's sleep. In the reflection, he saw his usual self - a handsome, well-built young man with a glamorous big grin on his face.

_Behold! The school idol had returned._

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It took no time for Squall to recognize who's at the classroom door thirty minutes late. Zackary Fair could be the only one.

"Morning!" The boy greeted his English teacher casually, ignoring the man's glares towards him.

"Good morning Mr. Fair and would you mind telling me the reason why you're late for the class again?" Squall faced the latecomer with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Well, I couldn't find my boxer this morning and so I had to drop in my girlfriend's place to get one. Funny right?" Zack joked while walking towards his seat. The whole class burst into laughter at Zack's humour. He never failed to entertain the class by driving Squall mad.

Squall was truly furious at Zack's words, but still he managed to suppress his anger towards the discourteous student.

"No, not at all. And come to my office after class."

'_Whatever.'_ The boy mumbled before sitting down.

The teacher continued the lecture once everyone had stopped laughing. Zack took out some textbooks and his ipod from his sport bag. The pile of books was good enough to make a pillow and the earphones could perfectly prevent him from being bothered by any noises in the surroundings.

'_Time for a nice nap.' _

The raven-haired boy yawned, but his notion of sleeping vanished at the moment he sensed something unusual from the corner of his eye.

The seat next to him was occupied, occupied by a blonde kid unbeknown to him.

Zack didn't expect anyone sitting there, as he had once warned everyone not to sit beside him, not even the hottest girl in his class. He knew that many people were attempting to get close with him just because he's the popular one at school. He didn't understand why they were doing so but their sweet words and hypocrisy made him sick and has the urge to kick their asses real hard.

Nevertheless, the blond was sitting next to him like nothing would happen.

'_He must be a new kid here.'_ Zack thought to himself.

"Hey." Zack whispered, trying to draw the blond's attention. To his surprise, the boy showed no intention to turn his head towards Zack's direction. This made Zack doubted if his voice was too soft to be heard or simply he was ignored by the kid.

"Hey, blondie." He raised his voice a bit. This time the blond turned his head to Zack with an annoyed look, almost scowling.

"What?" the person next to him spoke with an unexpected unfriendly tone.

'_Whoa. Guess no one tells him who I am.'_

He was surprised to see someone at school talking to him like this. But considering the kid was new, Zack controlled himself not to intimidate him, at least not for now.

"You shouldn't be sitting here, ya know."

He forced a shallow smile on his face, pretending to be amiable.

Zack expected the kid to question, get mad, or at least say something, but he received no immediate reply but a stare.

The blond was staring at him with a blank face, having no emotions at all, simply just staring into Zack's eyes. Zack had no idea what the blond was thinking at this point but he was forced to stare back. Like they were having a staring contest, they carried on like this for quite a moment. During the time, Zack was actually observing the weird kid. He had huge eyes with the colour of the sky, or maybe a lake, pale skin, and a thick and full lower lip. But what drew most of Zack's attention was the golden spiky hair which grew in all directions. It seemed like this kid's having a hard time in taming his hair.

As time passed, Zack was starting to feel awkward at two guys staring at each other without saying anything. When he decided to say something, the blond spoked.

"I can sit wherever I like. Now piss off."

As he finished, he turned away from Zack and regained his attentiveness to Squall's lecture, leaving Zack with his mouth slightly opened, astonished.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hi everyone! Here is chapter 2 and I guess some of you will find it boring… next chap will be more fun, I guess 0.0

Warnings: In this fic, boys are gonna be romantically attracted to boys. Leave this page and fly to mars if you cannot accept gays. Contains strong language, violence, and may contain adult scenes in late chapters, so rated M for safety.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. But I own the plot of this story.

Chapter2

There was a mix of emotions stirring inside Zack. Albeit he didn't want to admit it, but he was startled by the arrogant blond sitting next to him as he couldn't recall anyone who dare talk to him in such way, even telling him to piss off. Yet he was somehow enraged by this kid's snooty attitude.

He's the _boss _here. Letting the new kid to mess about in his territory was out of the question.

As soon as Zack recovered from his astonishment, the former drowsiness was all gone. Right now, his mind was clear enough for him to ponder of ways to teach the blond a lesson.

As far as everyone knew, Zack was an outgoing guy all the time. He was optimistic, sociable and easy in conversation, and he liked flirting around with girls. Nobody would actually wonder if he was trying to mask something behind his fascinating personality. In fact, Zack wasn't acting wholly like his true self at school. Outwardly, he was a friendly guy, a ladies' man, but deep inside his heart, there existed a fierce, intimidating, feral monster, which desired to crush people's hearts and pride and see them breaking down and suffering from unbearable pain. He would love to see the blond getting hurt too.

The lecture ended in an instant. After dismissing the class, Squall instructed Zack to follow him to his office.

The raven-haired boy had always been a bother to Squall. He had lost count of the times the boy appearing at his office. Although he hated condemning his students, Squall just couldn't think of any other ways to deal with Zack, who was the most rebellious student he had ever taught. As for Zack, he knew well that Squall was the kind of guy with a grim look but a tender heart. By promising his teacher not to be late again and with the aid of his adorable puppy-eyes, he was soon freed from his discipline session with Squall.

Now he was on his way back to his classroom. As usual, he became the only concern of the people along the hallway. Students were greeting him and giving Zack gazes upon their admiration and affection towards him. As Zack was enjoying the attention he'd drawn from everyone, he saw a familiar figure in the middle of the hallway, greeting him with a wave.

"Long time no see, yo."

"Ssup, buddy."

Zack returned a friendly grin to his friend's greeting. Reno was one of his few friends at school. Others were simply admirers who Zack didn't really care about.

"Haven't heard from you for quite some time now. What'd ya been doing?" The red-haired teenager questioned. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pants pocket and placed one of the tobacco sticks between his lips.

"Hey, we're in the hallway." Zack reminded his friend.

"Oh yeah," Reno mumbled, putting the box back into his pockets.

"Not much. I was having some private time."

Reno raised his brow upon Zack's speech, looking unbelievable.

"D' you mean humping hot chicks?" he chuckled.

Zack frowned. He knew that he'd always been the horny one, but seriously he didn't want people to consider him a sex addict or something who had nothing to do but fucking.

When he was ready for a retort, he recognized the blond at the end of the hallway. There was a large pile of hardcover books in his arms. He seemed having a difficult time in carrying the heavy books; He was stumbling at every step.

"What's up with that blond in my class?" Zack asked, still keeping an eye on the unbeknown blond.

"Who?" Reno noticed Zack was looking at someone. He turned to the direction which drew his friend's attention and spotted the blond immediately.

"Oh, that kiddo. He's Strife, Cloud Strife. I heard someone said he just moved here." The red-headed informed his friend.

"I mean, what's up with his attitude?" He clarified. Reno raised his brow again, but this time it was due to the confusion caused by Zack's question.

"Did you guys have a conflict or what? I've never talked to him, not even once, yo. He's a weirdo. "

'_True.'_ Zack agreed to his friend's comment in his heart.

_"RENO!"_

Both boys turned their heads to the sudden yell. It was Tseng who looked utterly annoyed.

"Shit! Gotta go, text me bud."

Reno left Zack and rushed towards Tseng in no time that the raven-haired boy didn't even have the chance to say bye. Zack didn't know exactly why they were leaving in such hurry. Probably there's something going on within the Student Union. Once the two boys were out of Zack's sight, he tried to spot Cloud's figure among the crowd, but the blond was nowhere to be seen.

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The blond was still sitting there, on the seat next to Zack's. That big pile of books was now placed under his chair; Zack had no interest in knowing what kind of books they were though. Cloud was busily reading one of the books while Zack returned to his seat, and the blond seemed don't care much about who had just sat down beside him. The warning bell had rung, indicating that the teacher would be here soon. Zack was feeling drowsy again, so he decided to take a nap. Just before that, he observed the blond again. It was impossible for Cloud not to notice Zack's gaze, but the blond didn't stop him from staring.

'_Maybe he didn't want to get bothered, just like me.'_ Zack thought in his own mind.

Zack's vision was getting blurry; the distinct contour of Cloud's spiky hair was turning into a golden splash.

'_If this is true, perhaps it's not too bad to have him sitting next to me.'_

Zack laughed at his absurd idea flashed through his mind just before he lost his consciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hi everyone! Here comes chapter 3! Wow, I post a new chapter every day, I'm proud of myself xD Just to warn some of you before reading. Zack is a jerk in this story, but only for the beginning part. He will eventually turn into an adorable little puppy like he's supposed to be xD So don't worry, I know it's kinda OOC right now.

Zack: Hey! I'll never act like a jerk in front of Cloud!

Me: Yeah, I know you won't. You love him.

Zack: Shhh!*look around to see if Cloud's here*

Me: ehehe.

Warnings: In this fic, boys are gonna be romantically attracted to boys. Leave this page and fly to mars if you cannot accept gays. Contains strong language, violence, and may contain adult scenes in late chapters, so rated M for safety.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. But I own the plot of this story.

Chapter 3

The day passed quickly. Zack woke up from his sleep and realized he's the only one left in the classroom. Once again, he passed out in the middle of the lesson. He checked the time on his cellphone. It was 5:07P.M., no wonder why everybody was gone.

There were a few miss calls and text messages. He glanced through the messages quickly. The sender was the girl he flirted with during lunch time. They both agreed to meet after school. It's already an hour past the meeting time and this explained why the girl was giving him so many calls and messages, probably wondering where Zack was. Apparently, Zack didn't feel like dating right now, so he texted back, saying that he'd got something important to do.

He turned off his phone right after the message was sent. He knew that the girl was going to be real mad at him and he didn't want to hear someone screaming into his ears thought the speakers. He stretched his muscles in his seat. They became sore and tensed up after sleeping on the desk for almost two hours. The sky was getting dark already, he should probably be heading home.

Zack decided to visit the school canteen just before leaving the school; He was famished. He was too busy flirting with girls during the lunch break and didn't eat much. Hopefully his charm could aid him persuading the old lady at the counter to give him some food.

He was passing by the school gym at the moment he heard some noises around the corner. Zack wasn't a nosy person. He usually didn't give much damn to what the others do. Nevertheless, he couldn't suppress his urge to pause and watch after he knew what's happening; Cloud was being beaten up by a gang of four guys. They all looked strong and fierce. From Zack's experience, he could tell that the teen who had just kicked the blond in his thigh was showing no mercy at all; he was using his full strength. The other guys were shouting and even spitting on Cloud. Even though Zack couldn't hear what exactly they were saying as he was standing a few meters away from the gang, he knew it's nothing more than curses and humiliation.

There were no means for the pathetic blond to defend for himself; the blond, with his body trembling, was impotent, looking like he was going to black out at any time. They must have been torturing him for quite a while. The head of the group seemed to have noticed the blond's condition. He held back the other guys, made a last spit on the blond and left.

As soon as the gang was out of sight, Zack stepped forward to check out the beaten blond who was now curling on the ground. Cloud was seriously injured, but he didn't lose his consciousness. The blond's body tensed up when he heard someone approaching and he lift up his head slightly to see who it was. Zack was looking down at Cloud at the moment their eyes met. He was very much pleased to see what were inside the pair of blue eyes – hurt and helpless.

'_That's what you deserve.'_

Cloud saw a wicked smirk on the raven-haired teen's face before he turned about and left.

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A week later, all students received their report cards for the last semester. As usual, Zack failed all the subjects except for Physical Education and Music. He felt nothing about his poor results. He was not planning to go to the college anyway. But seemed that someone was not feeling the same as Zack did.

"_**Zackary Fair**__**.**_ Could you please come to my office, _right now_."

Zack knew that he was in big trouble whenever Squall called him by his full name.

Zack followed his teacher to his office, with neither one of them talking on the way. Squall simply didn't want to embarrass Zack by scolding him in the hallway, and Zack was afraid of saying anything that would piss Squall more.

Once they were inside the office, Squall instructed the student to take a seat on the sofa.

'_Shit, this's gonna be a long one.'_ Zack frowned upon his thought.

Squall sat down on his office chair and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Zack, I don't know what's going on with you, but if you keep on like this you probably won't be able to graduate, do you know that?"

"Yeah, I know." The raven-haired teen mumbled, looking down at his shoes.

There was something in Zack's mind, Squall knew it. But he bet the kid was not willing to talk to anyone.

"Look, Zack. I'm trying my best to help you. I know you're not interested in academic things, but this is just a part of your life. You need to face it and get over it." Squall said, carefully choosing words that wouldn't offend Zack.

"Fuck life." Zack said halfheartedly.

Squall sighed upon his student's response. There was probably no one at school who could tame this kid; Zack listened to no one.

"I am assigning a tutorial session to you."

_"WHAT?!"_ Zack bounced up, looking at his teacher eye-widened and startled.

"I'm not the one tutoring you though. A student from your class is willing to take this job."

"Hell No! I'm not gonna have that tutorial 'n shit. I'm leaving." Zack found this whole thing ridiculous and non-sense. He's not interested in everything taught at school. Having tutorial session wouldn't be helping anything.

"Don't make me call your mom, Zack." Squall's words stopped the raged teen who was marching towards the doorway.

Zack turned round to face his teacher again, giving the man a hate glare.

This was the second time for Squall to use Zack's mom to threaten the teen. He remembered the boy sending him a glare like this one.

"Sorry kid, but I have no other choices. If this isn't helping, I promise I will come up with other solution. Is this okay?"

"Whatever."

Zack stormed out of the office immediately once his teacher finished, slamming the door real hard as he went.

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Zack was told to meet his tutor in the library after school. To be honest, he was reluctant to have this tutorial session, but at the same time he knew Squall would really call his mother if he refused to do so. The insane woman had once driven him mad and he didn't want to see her anymore.

The library was vacant. Every student, including Zack himself, would have prefer wandering on the streets rather than staying in this stuffy room, especially when no tests were coming up in the next two weeks.

While Zack was staring out of the window and mind-wandering, someone spoke from behind, making Zack turn round to the voice.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm…"

Both teens widened their eyes in astonishment.

"…Cloud."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: OMG! I am so delighted to tell you guys that I'm now working on this fanfic with Namine23, my first beta reader! She's so amazing and helpful! Thank you for all your editing and patience, Namine sensei ! :3

So, from this chapter onwards, there will be more interactions between our beloved Zack and Cloud! Yay! Finally they are having normal convos lol

Tell me what you think by reviewing or sending me pm. I really need some feedback from you guys. Thanks and enjoy! :)

Warnings: In this fic, boys are gonna be romantically attracted to boys. Leave this page and fly to mars if you cannot accept gays. Contains strong language, violence, and may contain adult scenes in late chapters, so rated M for safety.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. But I own the plot of this story.

Chapter 4

An awkward silence fell between the two teens as they stared into each other's eyes.

The thought of having the blonde be his tutor had never crossed Zack's mind. He was expecting someone like the class prefect or some other smart kid.

To Zack's surprise, Cloud was acting unexpectedly calm. Even with Cloud's discomfiture, witnessed by Zack on the previous day, he did not seem embarrassed at all upon meeting the teen again. The blonde, with a stoic expression on his face as always, took a seat opposite to Zack and placed his school bag down on his lap.

"So… Can you show me your term papers so that I can at least know what to teach you?" Cloud said softly.

"There's no one around, why bother keeping your voice down?" Zack let out a chuckle upon the blonde's act, afterall, they were the only ones in the library.

Cloud scowled at his classmates teasing.

"Could you _just _show me your term paper?" the blonde repeated, raising his voice this time and starting to become a bit irritated.

_That's better_, thought the raven-haired teen, smirking. He then took out a pile of term papers from his bag and handed them to the blonde.

Cloud promptly scanned over the papers. Once he finished, Cloud could not control the sigh of despair that escaped his lips.

"You didn't study at all, did you?"

"Nope." Zack replied proudly.

"To be honest, you and an elementary school kid make no difference to me."

"Must be because you're too dumb to realize the difference."

"Obviously, your scores prove that there's no difference between you two."

"Yeah, yeah. Fine. Whatever." Zack found it meaningless, and tiring, to argue with the blonde.

It's not that he minded being commented based off his performance in the tests, he just simply didn't want to spend time arguing on issues that he didn't care about. Zack rested his head on the desk, letting the other teen know that he had no interest in continuing the spar.

Cloud was left speechless because of his classmate's attitude. Even though Cloud hadn't even started teaching yet, he was already having a hard time dealing with Zack.

"Anyways, I think we should start on some basic stuff like logarithm or-"

"Hey!" Zack threw himself back into a sitting position. He didn't miss out on seeing the slightly furrowed brows on the blonde's forehead from being interrupted.

"Look, kid. I'm pretty sure this isn't gonna work for me and it'll just be a waste of our time to, you know, keep having this kind of tutoring session. So let's just forget about it! C'mon, what do you say?"

The blonde set his eyes on a certain spot on the desk in silence, acting like he was arranging the thoughts in his head. Zack was wishing for an agreement from Cloud, but the latter's reply disappointed him.

"I've promised Mr. Leonhart to improve your grades. I must continue my job to teach you until you start showing improvement," The blonde said in a stern tone.

The blonde's stubbornness was getting to Zack. The raven-haired teen could feel his patience slipping away bit by bit.

"He won't know if neither of us tell him," Zack said through clenched teeth.

"No way, that's _**not **_right."

_What. The. Hell._

"Dammit! What are you? A teacher's pet, huh? Why's it so important to keep the fucking promise?!"

Zack could no longer keep his tone of speaking. He was enraged because of the blonde's attitude and his inexplicable insistence on keeping the stupid promise he made to his teacher. Cloud was driving him mad! The raging teen could even feel his blood boiling from the irrepressible anger.

It was just like the time when they had first met, the blonde was giving no response to Zack, despite his classmate's disrespectful criticism. Cloud was showing no fear of the furious noirette and was instead sending him an emotionless gaze. For sure, the blonde was standing firm on his ground, and Zack seemed to understand that there is no way to change the decision of the obstinate teen.

"This is just insane!"

Zack let out an angry roar while he stood up and kicked his chair aside in a reckless manner, tending to leave.

"I will report to, Mr. Leonhart, if you choose to leave."

Zack paused upon hearing the blonde's words. He hated being threatened. He hated to obey. Yet, he couldn't risk letting Squall know that he was not cooperating with his tutor. The man would definitely call his mother and inform her of his misbehavior at school.

The raven-haired boy shot a frightening glare at the blonde before returning to his seat.

"Fuck. You. Strife."

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Though Zack did not want to admit it, Cloud was actually doing a really good job teaching him. The blonde kept his notes clear and straight, and he managed to teach in a pace that Zack was able to catch up. Still, academic things were not included in the rebellious teen's list of interest. His mind would wander, or doze off, sometimes. Whenever Cloud discovered that the teen wasn't paying attention to his lesson, he would use a pen, a ruler, or whatever stationery he had in hand, and stab at Zack's forelimb _real hard_.

A week's time had passed by since the first tutoring session. Zack had been experiencing a mood swing throughout the whole week. He was exhausted and frustrated by the mandatory tutoring he had to attend _every _day after school. On the other hand, he was delighted to have met a hot girl named, Cissnei, at some of his friends' house party on the weekend.

Because of this, Zack had begun to stay away from the after school tutoring once he and Cissnei started dating. At first, Cloud believed the excuses the raven-haired teen made up. However, as the excuses were getting more dubious, and ridiculous, the blonde stopped trusting Zack and no longer allowed him to skip out.

"If you even dare and skip out on one more session, I will tell Mr. Leonhart that you're skipping out on the tutoring sessions without a reasonable excuse!" Cloud warned his classmate, who was caught attempting to skip the tutorial for the umpteenth time.

"Whoa, relax blondie. Look, I really need some private time. Could we cut down on the number of lessons to, maybe, like one or two per week?" Zack pleaded.

Of course, it's not easy to obtain an agreement from the blonde.

"That would be too less. You're already making a slow progress."

"Okay, then, three lessons a week! How's that?"

"No, that's still not enough."

After all, the blonde wanted to have a tutoring session every single day.

Zack clenched his fist in annoyance, at the same time trying hard to resist from punching the blonde in his face.

In fact, Cloud somewhat understood how the other teen was feeling. If he had a date every day after school, he wouldn't be willing to attend the insipid tutoring either.

"What if," The blonde spoke, and paused at the moment when he realized Zack was looking at him with his pair of sparkling, hope-filled eyes.

"What if I let you have your free time in the afternoon, and then we have tutoring at your place at night?"

"That sounds perfect to me!" Zack replied with a wide grin on his face.

"Okay then. I'll meet you at 8 tonight."

Zack gave the blonde his address right before he left for his date with, Cissnei. As willingly as the raven-haired teen seemed in accepting his tutor's suggestion, evil ideas on how to tease Cloud started popping up in Zack's mind.

He couldn't wait to get to the blonde.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Gosh, this chapter really took me some time to write! I don't know why, but I've been doing the rephrasing for hours before I sent it to my beta reader. I hope you guys won't find it too bad :3

Oh by the way, I had some really weird dreams about FF7 few days ago 0_o Genesis invited me to have dinner with his parents, and Sephiroth had sex with Zack…  
WHAT'S GOING ON WITH MY BRAIN XDDD|||

Warnings: In this fic, boys are gonna be romantically attracted to boys. Leave this page and fly to the mars if you cannot accept gays. Contains strong language, violence, and may contain adult scenes in late chapters, so rated M for safety.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. But I own the plot.

I need to thank my beta reader, Namine23, for the awesome editing ^_^!

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Chapter 5

After seeing Zack leave in a fairly good mood, Cloud packed his things and left the classroom.

The blonde lives in an apartment located at the 7th district in Midgar. It was a quiet residential area near the suburbs. No shopping malls, movie theatres, or other places for entertainment could be found there. Therefore, there was nothing much for Cloud to do after school; apart from doing his homework and having tutoring sessions with Zack.

Cloud put on his earphones and played a random song in his iPod before leaving the school. Normally, he enjoyed listening to the ambient noises in the surroundings, especially, to the children's laughter when he pass by the park on his way home. That was the only thing that could put a smile on his face lately. However, the blonde needed some music to put him at ease him right now. He was feeling somewhat insecure about teaching at his classmate's place.

Although Zack was attending his tutoring sessions, Cloud knew that the teen would not be doing so if he hadn't menaced him in the first place. Over the last few weeks, Cloud could tell that the raven-haired teen was losing his endurance and patience towards him. Zack hated him, or at least, disliked him, for insisting to have the after school tutoring, and for depriving him of his private time. Cloud wouldn't be surprised if Zack suddenly punched him hard in the face. After all, Cloud was practically driving the teen to do so.

Those are the reasons for why the blonde was beginning to think whether teaching at Zack's place was a good idea. Cloud had no one to seek for help if, unfortunately, the raven-haired teen lost his temper and beat him up tremendously bad. The mere thought of getting punched and kicked was sending shivers down his spine. The wounds that Cloud had received from being beaten up by a gang of students the last time hadn't fully recovered yet, and so he had purplish bruises scattering all over his back. Cloud did not want to receive any more of those physical and emotional scars.

Cloud was abruptly pulled out of his wandering thoughts and brought back to reality when he felt someone grip his arm firmly and pull him back to the sidewalk. Cloud had nearly gotten hit by a heavy truck, though Cloud couldn't recall himself ever walking onto the street.

Cloud thanked the goodhearted passerby for saving his life, and he (cautiously) hurried back to his apartment.

Once the blonde got home, tears started to well up in his ocean-blue eyes. He dropped his schoolbag on the floor recklessly and threw himself on the couch. Cloud let out a deep sigh, completely worn out by the endless worries that filled his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about what awful things Zack would do to him.

Cloud wished he had someone beside him, a person who would hold him tightly in a warm embrace and soothe him, telling him that everything was going to be alright and nothing was going to happen like it did in the past.

Once again, Cloud was pulled out of his wandering thoughts and brought back to reality.

There was no one around in this flat.

No one to welcome him home, share his worries, or kiss him goodnight. The dead silence in the room assured that he was all alone.

Frustrated, Cloud nuzzled his face into the cushions. His eyelids were getting heavy, so he decided to take a nap until he needed to leave his apartment and head over to Zack's. With tears streaming down his cheeks, Cloud sobbed himself to sleep.

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Zack was flipping through the channels on the couch when he heard the doorbell rang. He darted a quick glance at the wall clock, and raised a brow upon knowing that the blonde was twenty minutes early. This made Zack wonder if Cloud was _actually_ looking forward to having the tuition at his place.

"Coming!" Zack yelled, letting the blonde know that he was home. He turned off the television before heading to the door.

Cloud's palms started to sweat as the door opened. He was nervous; his heart was hammering against his chest. Fortunately, he still managed to keep his usual stoic expression on his face to hide his underlying emotions.

"Hey!" Zack greeted his classmate with a small smirk.

"H-Hi," The blonde nodded and replied, not looking into Zack's eyes.

Zack tilted his head slightly as he noticed the other's unusual behavior. Cloud was avoiding any eye contact, he was tense and was gripping the corner of his shirt tightly. The blonde was showing signs of anxiety. Albeit the introverted blonde was shy and quiet most of the time, he never showed any feelings of being uneasy or insecure in front of Zack before.

Zack had absolutely no idea why Cloud was acting in such way.

"Uh, why don't you c'mon in?"

Pretending not to have noticed the weird act of the blonde, the taller teen motioned his tutor to enter the house, but the latter showed a bit of doubt before stepping forward.

Zack motioned Cloud take a seat at the dining table, which has papers, books, and magazines scattered all over.

"Sorry for the mess. I seldom clean my place. Do you want anything to drink?" Zack asked, while checking out the fridge for beverages.

Silence.

The teen brought his head up and shot an impatient look to the blonde upon the long wait for an answer. Yet, Zack realized that Cloud didn't even notice him asking. The blonde was cautiously observing the house, like he was placed in a perilous territory unbeknown to him, looking around with alert for any ambushing enemies.

Cloud didn't notice Zack walking towards him from the kitchen. Cloud was brought back to earth when suddenly the view of the living room was obstructed by a waving hand.

"Hellooo!"

Cloud turned to face his classmate, and was startled to see the unexpected close-up of Zack.

"W-What?"

"I _asked_ you if you wanted anything to drink?" Zack groaned.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't hear you. No, I-I'm fine."

The raven-haired boy narrowed his eyes, giving the other teen a mistrustful stare. This made the blonde's heart beat even faster and his palms sweat more.

"W-we better start our lesson now!" Cloud tried to hide his blushing cheeks away from the other teen by taking out the notes and textbooks from his bag underneath the table.

"Okay…" Zack knew that something was probably whirring inside the blonde's head, but he didn't bother to bring up the question because he guessed Cloud wouldn't be telling him, even if he asked.

Zack took a seat opposite to his tutor, and cracked open a can of beer he grabbed from the refrigerator.

The sizzle of carbon caught Cloud's attention. His blue eyes widened as he realized what his classmate was drinking.

"HEY! You shouldn't be drinking alcohol!" He exclaimed.

"Why not?" Zack asked with an irritated tone, licking the frothy foam above his upper lip.

"Why no-? Aren't you still underage?!"

"Duh, I'm 19."

"I mean-! W-wait… What? You're 19?"

"Hell, yes!" the teen let out a sigh, "I know I'm supposed to be in college now, but shit happens and that's why I'm still stuck in high school," Zack explained, and had another sip from his drink.

Cloud was suddenly speechless as he received some new information about Zack. He'd never expected his classmate to be two years older than him.

"Well, aren't you going to start the lesson?" Zack put the half-empty can aside, searching for his textbook from the pile of mess on the table. Meanwhile, the blonde leaned across the table and quickly snatched the beer away from his classmate.

"Hey! Give it back!"

"No! You're still not supposed to drink, you have to concentrate."

"What. The. Fuck." The raven-haired teen cursed through his clenched teeth. He didn't understand why the blonde was always sticking his nose into his business. This would not do Cloud any good and just make Zack hate him even more.

At that instant, Zack suddenly remembered his plan on teasing Cloud. A wicked smile slowly spread across his face as he discovered a porn magazine that was lying underneath the pile of books.

"Blondie, look at this!" Zack said as he flipped the magazine to a certain page and showed it to Cloud.

It was a pleasure for Zack to see the many shades of red that rushed from the blonde's neck to his face, and the widening blue eyes that nearly fell out of the orbits. As expected, Cloud was totally stunned and embarrassed upon seeing the erotic scene of a naked woman.

"Mmm, they're hot right?" He flipped to another page as he said this, almost bursting out in laughter. Cloud looked hilarious! The raven-haired teen was having a hard time suppressing his laughter.

"P-put that away!" Cloud cried, and dropped his eyes from the pornography to the textbook, not daring take another look at the former. He felt his cheeks burning like fire, and his tongue drying up all of a sudden.

Cloud was a country boy. Everything was so simple and naïve back in his hometown, Nibelheim. That's why he was so different from the teenage boys in Midgar. Even though he was already 17, Cloud had _never_ fantasized about a woman. The unexpected exposure to something unseen before was freaking him out.

"Hmm, not interested, huh? Well, how about this one?" Zack just couldn't stop teasing the blonde. Seeing the teen getting embarrassed was a whole new thing to Zack, and he was indeed enjoying it very much. He slipped the magazine on top of Cloud's textbook, forcing him to look at the pornographs.

"Oh my god, Cloud, look at those huge tits! Damn! They're giving me an erec-"

"ZACK!" Cloud screamed in dread. He didn't understand why the other teen was teasing him in such way, but Cloud has had enough. The whole situation was making him uncomfortable, and at the same time, he felt ashamed of himself.

The former rakish grin on Zack's face slipped away as he saw the expression of his tutor. The poor boy looked like he was going to cry at any moment. Though Zack was bewildered by the blonde's over-reaction, he knew that he had crossed the line, and now he panicked upon seeing the pair of watery eyes in front of him.

"Uh, I-I'm sorry," the older teen scratched the back of his head, "I didn't know that you, um, don't like this kind of stuff. I thought-"

Shaking his head, Cloud interrupted Zack from his apology.

"No," he sobbed, "It's just, me being weird."

All of a sudden, the blonde looked so weak and feeble. This was so strange to Zack since the other teen was usually arrogant, like he was always proud of himself for being intelligent and bright. But why, at this instance, was Cloud looking so weak and ashamed?

The sudden guilt spoiled Zack's mood on teasing the boy. With a sigh, he laid the magazine aside, out of the blonde's sight, and put his textbook in front of him.

"Okay, shall we begin?"

Zack tried to get off the topic that made his tutor feel uncomfortable. Cloud nodded, and started the teaching.

Although the blonde managed to teach like he did all the time, he never looked into the raven-haired teen's eyes, again.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey guys! I'm soooooooooooo sorry for the late update! I was working on my doujinshi that will be released on the coming sunday! So, forgive me, okay? :3 I'm not going to give up on this fic, so don't worry! But as I will be in my final year of college starting from the next semester, I wouldn't be able to update that frequently. Please understand that and I will try my best to update asap. Okay? :)

Btw, I've posted the link of the illustration I drew for Cloud's birthday on my profile page. Go check it out if you're interested :3!

Lastly, thank you Namine23 for the wonderful editing :)

And guys, please, reviewwwwwwwwwwww! :3

Warnings: In this fic, boys are gonna be romantically attracted to boys. Leave this page and fly to mars if you cannot accept gays. Contains strong language, violence, and may contain adult scenes in late chapters, so rated M for safety.

Disclaimer: I do not own ff7 and its character, though I desperately want to own Cloud and Zack.

* * *

Chapter 6

Lunch break.

It is the time when students were the most elated, the time when students were freed from dreary lecture's and be able to stuff their rumbling stomach. Nevertheless, Zack was having no appetite at all. He was stabbing at his pasta with knitted brows on his forehead.

'Oh, I forgot to tell you all, but we will be having a sudden test tomorrow. Make sure you do the revision tonight,' the man paused, turning his head to Zack, who was obviously not paying any attention to his announcement, 'Especially _you_, Zackary Fair.'

The raven-haired teen let out a sigh of dismay as he recalled what Professor Vincent said before dismissing the class.

Unlike Squall, Vincent was _not_ an easy man to deal with. No matter how hard Zack tried to make a pathetic-looking pout, or gaze upon his teacher with his pair of huge puppy eyes, it simply had no effect on the man to mitigate the punishment for failing his tests. It was an unforgettable tragedy for Zack to have scored seven out of hundred on his previous math test. Vincent was utterly mad upon the boy's _incredibly_ poor results, and afterwards he assigned a one-month detention to Zack, forcing the teen to solve math problems non-stop for two hours straight, every day after school.

Who knows what that sadistic long-haired man would do if Zack failed again!

Zack _hated_ the fact that he was in his final year of high school. Almost every teacher was jumpy about their students' academic performance. Despite Zack having tutoring with Cloud since the beginning of the semester, Zack was _still_ the worst student in his class. Because of this, Zack always received close attention, which was what he least he wanted, from the teachers.

Feeling nauseous, Zack pushed away his tray of food, which he'd barely eaten, leaned back, and let his head drop onto the back of the chair. Noticing the lack of appetite from Zack, his group of friends paused eating and gave the ravenette a strange gaze.

"What the hell, Zack? Why are you eating so little like a pussy?" the blonde, who was wearing a tuque, asked with a mischievous look on his face.

"I'm not in the mood to eat," Zack replied, not even bothering to spare a glance at Seifer, "and don't you dare call me a pussy one more time, asshole!"

Zack surely was in a very bad mood. Befriended with Zack for a few years, the blonde knew that it was not the bright idea to mess with the teen at this moment. Seifer shrugged at the grumpy teen's reply, and continued eating his meal like nothing had happened.

There is still 45 minutes left until the end of the lunch break. Zack finished his meal much earlier than usual and had nothing to do right now. He didn't want to join the stupid conversations between his friends, who, unlike him, looked jolly and carefree. Seeing his friends joking around and laughing lightheartedly would only make him feel worse. Without saying a word, Zack left the group and walked away.

* * *

Purposelessly wandering in the school campus was definitely not an amusing thing to do. Having been studying here for a few years there was nothing new to him or could get his attention; there's nothing like exploring the school or discovering a hidden spot. Plus, Zack didn't have mood for doing anything else. He wished strolling alone would relieve his sickening stomach for a little.

Sticking both hands in his pants pockets, the teen walked down the vacant hallway. The hall was unusually tranquil, probably because most of the students were still enjoying their meals at the school canteen. Shaking his spikey head, Zack snapped out of the thought of how joyous the others were doing. He was despaired. The bothersome negative emotions were getting to him already and he didn't need the others to remind him that he was the only one stressed out by the test.

After a while of meaningless wandering, Zack felt no better and his temples were starting to ache. He ended up stopping by the leisure area right next to the general office and to take a rest.

The area was unexpectedly decent and well decorated with a fluffy khaki carpet spread over the floor, there's also a few sets of wooden teapoys and armchairs scattered around. The sight of earthy-toned furniture and the smell of wood wafting throughout the air were comforting. Sitting on one of the comfy armchairs, Zack felt soothed as the tension in his nerves loosened. He closed his eyes as he leaned back to enjoy the scarce peaceful moment in the day. A long while later, the teen was so relaxed that he didn't even notice himself dropping off.

Even though Zack was in a half-conscious state, he could faintly hear an approaching footsteps coming from the far end of the hallway. He wouldn't mind if someone was going to sit next to him or nearby, and thus he didn't bother to open his eyes, not until he heard something hitting the ground all of a sudden. Rubbing his orbs, the haziness in the ravenette's eyes slipped away at the moment. Once he recognized who was standing a few meters away from him, Zack felt his breath caught in his throat.

Cloud promptly picked up the lunch box that he dropped in startle. Just now, he was walking to his usual spot, where he's sure no one else would be around, to have his lunch. Almost as stunned as Zack was, Cloud had never expected someone like the ravenette to be sitting here - the spot for loners. Instead of dozing off on an armchair alone, Zack should be surrounded by a bunch of people, playing around and bragging, ergo he's the popular kid.

Now that he had accidentally awakened the raven-haired teen, Cloud couldn't help but act just like a deer caught in the headlights. He didn't know how to react to this situation. Should he apologize and then sit down like nothing had happened? Should he sit down nonchalantly without apologizing? Or should he just turn round and run away like a coward?

While Cloud was still pondering what to do next, Zack was perplexed to see the other teen standing there without saying a word.

"Are you going to sit down or what?" he began, not surprised to see Cloud startled when he spoke suddenly.

As expected, the blonde remained silent like he normally did, giving no reply or gesture.

"Fine," Zack rolled his eyes as he spoke. Feeling like talking to a mute and being slightly annoyed, Zack pressed a finger against his temples due to the ache spreading across the sides of his head again.

"Guess I'm sitting on your spot."

Zack liked this place, but he preferred going elsewhere rather than awkwardly watching the blonde standing there like a tree and wondering whatever-is-in-his-head.

"No!" Cloud shouted when he saw the other teen lifting himself up from the armchair.

At that moment, Cloud wanted to slap himself hard once he realized he was doing. He was yelling at Zack! He shouldn't be talking (or yelling) to the ravenette, not when they were not having tutoring.

"Um, I-I mean..." Cloud took a small step backward as he noticed Zack cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "...you don't have to leave. It's okay if you sit there," he mumbled almost inaudibly.

Hesitating, Zack sat back on the armchair. Meanwhile, Cloud walked forward haltingly and took a seat furthest away from his classmate.

Well. This is so fucking awkward.

It'd been a week since Zack had shown the pornographic magazine to Cloud. From what Zack had observed throughout the week, his tutor had been avoiding unnecessary conversation with him, though they seldom talked to each other, the blonde dared not meet his eyes with Zack's. The ravenette couldn't tell if the blonde was mad at him or just freaked out badly by that little joke.

At the instant, Cloud felt his entire body stiffened. He couldn't help but tense up when he sensed the other teen gazing at him in silence as if he was some kind of experimental subject.

Timidly, the blonde opened his lunch box and started munching on his sandwich, trying to keep the noise from chewing as little as possible. Cloud desperately wished that Zack would stop staring at him and just go back to sleep.

Truth is that the blonde wouldn't mind Zack doing so (though it's strange), if the ravenette didn't show him that magazine. What Zack had done to him made the things between them totally awkward, or maybe Cloud is the only one feeling like this. The blonde didn't even dare talk to Zack anymore, at times when it's not necessary to. Cloud knew that Zack was bewildered by his reaction towards the pornography, and Cloud guessed that the other teen now considered him to be a weirdo. Well, it could be worse, Zack could be questioning him on why he was reacting in such way. Cloud himself wasn't sure about the reason behind his reaction either.

Recalling the day when Cloud first came to Midgar, he knew nothing about sex. Despite his innocence, Cloud was not dumb or stupid, especially, when all the guys in Midgar were chattering about girls and sex almost twenty-four seven. The naïve blonde would eventually understand the matter of their conversations.

Even now, Cloud was still not interested in knowing more about the adult world. He preferred spending his time reading a good book rather than surfing through porn sites or something. But this was also why the blonde was so confused about himself. As a 17-year-old male, he should be full of curiosity about the opposite sex. However, the blonde realized that he was surprisingly unaccustomed to something he should be interested in. After rounds of elimination in his head, Cloud could only come up with a single reason in explaining why he was showing no interest in such a thing - porn is filthy, and it's not educational. But it sounded totally lame, even he himself wasn't convinced.

While Cloud was lost in his thoughts, Zack found it quite amusing to observe the change of expressions on the blonde's face. Just a moment ago, Cloud looked completely dull while chewing his food, almost as if it tasted like crap. But now, the blonde was looking vexed, pouting, and he even had his brows knitted. Shortly, the raven-haired teen realized that he was acting just like a creep, getting a small grin creep across his face while staring at Cloud. Luckily, the blonde was so occupied by whatever was in his head that he didn't see the smile spread across his classmate's lips.

The abrupt ringing of the school bell broke the long silence between the two.

Zack heard Cloud gulped softly, and the latter quickly stuffed the remaining sandwich into his mouth. Zack didn't understand why the blonde had to put himself in such hurry when they still have 10 minutes until the afternoon classes begin. As for Zack, he didn't want to rush to class, he wants to walk to the classroom slowly and take his time, so he got up from the armchair and made his way down the hallway. Unexpectedly, Cloud followed him right after swallowing the last bite of his lunch, he also walked at the same pace as Zack.

Zack was confused. The blonde walking beside him was surely weird. In better words, Cloud was special; different. Cloud was like no one Zack had ever met before. Sometimes the blonde treated the raven-haired teen like some kind of dangerous beast that would eat him up at any time. Other times, Cloud would get close to him just like what he was doing right now. Zack couldn't deny the fact that Cloud was the only guy (Well, who would give a shit to guys when there were hot girls everywhere) who was capable of gaining his attention. Though Cloud could be conceited sometimes, Zack just couldn't hate him because of his quiet nature that could hardly be seen from the boisterous people around him.

There was no exchange of words between the two teens during the way back to the classroom. This might sound strange to others, but neither the ravenette nor the blonde felt uncomfortable about the complete silence.

* * *

"Zack!"

Zack was at the school gate when he heard someone calling him from behind. He turned his head to the feminine voice and couldn't suppress from smiling when he realized it was Cissnei who was calling his name.

"Hey babe! Why are you here?" the ravenette wrapped his arm around the brunette's waist and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Well, I got off work early today and so I came to pay you a visit!" Cissnei replied, leaning in closer to her boyfriend.

"Mmmm… This is so nice of you. Hey, wanna go somewhere? Maybe we could go get the crepe you like or-?"

"Well, actually," the girl interrupted and looked up at Zack, smirking,"My parents won't be home until midnight. Do you wanna come over?"

* * *

It's almost twelve at night when Zack left Cissnei's place.

He would have loved to stay and cuddle with his girl after some intense love-making, but he couldn't risk letting Cissnei's parents find out that he just humped their daughter. It would still be better if they screamed and kicked him out of the house; what Zack really worried about was that her parents would consider him Cissnei's lover or even their future son-in-law, asking him to take good care of their daughter and shit. Afterall, Zack was just treating Cissnei as one of the girls he slept with.

Right now, Zack wished he had his beloved motorbike with him so that he wouldn't have to walk home under the blistering cold. Even though he had his jacket zipped all the way up, the night air was still chilling his bones, making him shiver. Fortunately, he was just a few blocks away from his house. Despite the tiredness overcoming his whole body after a long day, Zack ran full speed so that he could reach home as soon as possible.

The sidewalk was dark and empty. People in his neighbourhood slept early, and the road was illuminated only by a few streetlights that tended to go off at any moment. But Zack could still spot the roof of his own house even if he was several meters away.

_Just a few more seconds! And then I could…_

All of a sudden, Zack gasped and stopped.

He saw a shadow right in front of his door. But it's so dark that he couldn't tell if it was a human or an animal.

Zack desperately hoped that it wasn't a drunk guy or a creep. Dealing with them was the least he wanted to do right now; all he wanted was a hot shower and to sleep like a rock in his own bed. Zack picked up a wood stick from the bush nearby and approached his front door cautiously, making as little noise as he could.

"Who's there?!" Zack yelled at the shadow, holding the stick firmly in his hands in case of a sudden attack. But he received no response from whoever he was talking to.

_Shit! Don't tell me he's dead?!_

Zack walked closer.

The ravenette froze when he was finally close enough to recognize the familiar scrawny figure sitting in front of his house.

It was Cloud.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hi there :) I just want to tell you guys that this chapter is unbeta-ed. In other words, there will be lotsssssss of grammatical errors and terribly wrong usage of English.

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 and its characters, though I desperately want to own both Cloud and Zack and make them kiss each other.

* * *

Chapter7

"Cloud! Cloud! Wake up!" Zack yelled in fright, kneeing down and shaking the senseless blonde, who was hiding his face between his knees.

_No, please. Don't. Fucking. Die. NO!_

Apparently, Cloud had been waiting here for a few hours already since they were supposed to have the tutoring at 8 as usual, in which Zack had totally forgotten because of his joyous time with Cissnei. Cloud's wearing so little and his body was freezing cold. No matter how fiercely Zack was shaking him, Cloud was still not showing any kind of response.

_SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!_

Adrenaline was now coursing rapidly through the veins of the ravenette, making him sweat even under the chill. His heart was pounding so fast and hard that Zack could feel pain on his chest every time his heart hammered against it. Zack was all jolted within as he saw how lifeless Cloud seemed. He could scarcely help shuddering when thoughts of Cloud died in cold were whirring around his head. Nevertheless, panicking alone would help nothing. As soon as Zack managed to snap out of his trance, he carried on trying hard to wake up the unconscious blonde.

"WAKE THE FUCK UP CLOUD! OR ELSE I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Fortunately, Cloud was finally awaked by the continuous loud yell of Zack after some time. He lifted up his head and let out a soft groan. Shortly, Zack saw the pair of cerulean eyes fluttered open slowly, but it took a while for the blonde to actually regain his full consciousness and recognize his classmate.

"…Zack?" Cloud whispered weakly.

"Yeah, it's me! Gosh!" the raven-haired teen, who was slumping down on the floor, let out a sigh of relief as he finally assured his tutor wasn't dead. "You scared the shit out of me! D' you know that?!"

"Sorry, I fell asleep-Holy crap! It's freezing here!"

"Shit. Come into my house now."

Noticing Cloud's body was shivering and his teeth clenching unconsciously, Zack promptly hopped up off the ground and took out the keys from his pants pocket in panic. Once the door was opened, Zack immediately helped Cloud to get up and hurried him into the house.

"I'll get you a blanket and something hot to drink," Zack said right after he closed the door, "sit down first," he continued, almost like commanding, as he motioned the blonde to the couch.

"Eh, you don't have to-"

"I said sit. Down! Seriously, Cloud, do you wanna get sick?!"

Seeing his classmate just about to lose his temper, Cloud dared not retort upon Zack and sat down as he was told to. Cloud watched the other teen scurried into one of the rooms and came out in no time with a thick cover in his arms.

"I got more of this if one is not enough," Zack informed Cloud when he handed the spare cover to the blonde.

"Thanks. I think this would be fine already…"

"Do you want some tea? Or do you prefer cocoa or something?" Zack waited patiently for a reply from the blonde, who was still busily making himself comfortable with the cover wrapping around him.

Honestly, Cloud felt uncomfortable upon how well his classmate was treating him. Even though it was truly Zack's fault to have made him wait for such long in the cold, and Cloud did really appreciate how the ravenette was making up for him. But it's just strange. Zack was kind of acting like they were friends, which they were not in fact.

"Um, tea maybe?" Cloud answered sheepishly.

"Okay, right away!" Zack flashed a smile at Cloud before heading to the kitchen.

As a matter of fact, the ravenette wouldn't be serving others like this usually. Well, maybe sometimes when he was trying to get a girl in bed. But the guilt was getting to him presently. He felt terrible about himself after letting Cloud suffer in the cold for hours. He believed that taking care of the ill-looking blonde was the only way that could lessen the remorse within him.

A while later, Zack returned back to the living room with a cup of steaming herbal tea.

"Drink it. This will make you feel better."

Cloud thanked the ravenette as he accepted the drink from him.

Zack observed the blonde who was supping his hot tea little by little. Cloud seemed a bit better now, at least he was no longer shivering and he'd regained some ruddiness on his face. But still, there exists a chance that the cold symptoms might appear after some time; albeit Cloud was fine at this moment, it's not guaranteed that he wouldn't collapse in the next second due to the sudden worsening of his cold. Zack just couldn't leave the blonde alone.

"You sleep in my bed tonight. I can sleep here."

A sip of tea was flowing down Cloud's throat when Zack suddenly spoke up. Almost at instance, the blonde choked on the liquid and started coughing badly.

"Whoa, are you okay?!" the ravenette panicked upon seeing his tutor coughing like that. Without any hesitation, he reached out and gently rubbed the back of Cloud.

The blonde put down his cup on the coffee table to make sure he wouldn't spill any drop of tea on the couch.

"cough, cough…I-I thought we're still having tutoring tonight!"

_What?!_

Sometimes, it's not really Zack's fault that he would lose his temper so easily in front of Cloud. The latter just knew the ways how to drive the ravenette over the edge.

"Are you kidding me?! Don't tell me that you still wanna do that shit when you're so sick!" Zack exclaimed.

Cloud was stunned by Zack's overreaction as he didn't notice any sign before the ravenette started yelling at him all of a sudden.

"I-I'm fine! See?" Cloud proved his words by removing the cover, "I don't feel cold anymore!"

"No shit, Cloud. You are fucking sick!"

"No, I'm not! Even if I were, I still have the responsibility to teach you! No matter how-"

"BULLSHIT!"

Zack screamed. He could no longer suppress his anger towards Cloud. He grabbed the collar of the blonde, leaning forward so that he was now staring down at him.

"Oh yeah?! Is this so-called responsibility shit so damn important?!" Zack further pushed the blonde against the back of the couch while supporting his own body in one arm, so that he's hovering on top of Cloud, "that you can simply ignore your own health?! Is it so fucking important that you even insist on teaching the guy you hate so damn much?!"

What's the matter with him?! Cloud stared at the enraged teen with wide eyes and an open mouth. He was bewildered by Zack's manner. This was the first time he'd ever seen the ravenette being such mad at him. And he couldn't believe that Zack actually thought that he hated him!

"W-what?! No! I don't hate you! Why would I?!" Cloud shouted in disbelief.

"Why wouldn't you?! I'm a jerk to you all the time! Don't fucking lie to me Cloud, I know it! You wouldn't have insisted on teaching me if Squall wasn't keeping an eye on us!"

"No, that's not true!" Cloud gulped as Zack increased the force in pressing him against the couch. The blonde found himself having slight difficulty in breathing. But he had to speak up; he had to let the raven-haired teen know why he was so persistent.

"I just- I just wanna help you! I don't wanna give up on you just like everyone does!"

Cloud didn't know what to do in order to gain the trust from Zack. At instant, he just shouted out what's in his mind as loud as he could, and was no longer concerned about the consequences – maybe Zack was going to shut him up by punching him. Yet, to Cloud's surprise, rather than pummeling on his face, Zack froze upon the words, and the expression on his face drastically altered from wrath to confusion.

"W-What exactly do you mean?" the ravenette asked in perplexity, as if his ears had deceived him just now.

"…I could see the talent within you, Zack. But I've no idea why everyone…including you, seems to have overlooked it … and I think it would be a pity if you don't make good use of it…" Cloud's voice diminished gradually as he further explained, feeling uneasy when he saw the piercing violet eyes of Zack staring constantly at his.

"A-And don't we have a test tomorrow? We should probably revise on that!"

_Hell yes. That fucking math test. How'd I have forgotten it?_

At that moment, the rage within the ravenette seemed to have slipped away immediately, and a new emotion known as anxiety started getting to him. Undoubtedly, Zack would be doomed if he really did nothing for tomorrow's test. Cloud was indeed his only hope right now.

Sighing, Zack cast a look at the blonde, who was practically lying underneath him right now, before loosening his grip on Cloud's collar.

"…Fine. Let's get started then," the ravenette said, propping himself up from the couch.

* * *

Afterwards, the two teens had their lesson until dawn, when Zack was finally capable of reciting the rules for differentiation and integration. They managed to get an hour of sleep before heading to school. However, that's definitely not enough, especially right after a long night of studying; both Cloud and Zack were having black circles under their eyes, and their heads were aching just like they were going to crack. But what's made this dreadful morning seem better to Zack was the incredible mess on the blonde's head. The ravenette burst out laughing at the golden spikes that were even more disheveled than they already were. Cloud was even nicknamed Chocobo after Zack commented that he looked exactly like one of those big birds.

Zack wasn't positive that he was going to pass the test. Even though he remembered the rules, but he could barely apply them in the questions even when Cloud was guiding him step by step. Fortunately, the test wasn't as difficult as most people had expected. Those math symbols and equations that had been alien to Zack before seemed to be understandable now. Albeit the ravenette didn't manage to finish the paper, he had completed at least half of the questions.

At the end of school, both Zack and Cloud agreed to cancel the tutoring session on that day as they really needed a good rest. Zack passed out immediately once he fell onto his bed. Doing math surely uses up more energy than he thought.

On the next day, he was late for school, and Vincent had just finished returning the test back to the students at the moment Zack arrived at the classroom.

"Sorry! I'm late!"

"Hm. Good morning, Fair," the long-haired man, who was holding a piece of paper, greeted the latecomer in a stoic tone.

Zack froze. For sure, he knew what was in his teacher's hands. That could be nothing but his test paper.

"M-Morning, sir," he gasped and straightened up. Nervousness was coursing through him as he saw Vincent walking towards him.

Without saying a word, Vincent handed the test to the tensed ravenette. Zack felt a lump forming in his throat as he received the paper. He couldn't tell from his teacher's expressionless face if he had passed the test or not, making him even more nervous. Gathering up the courage, Zack looked down on the paper in his shuddering hands. His eyes widened upon seeing the two numbers written in red.

"OH. MY. GOD! 61?! I-I PASSED! OH YEAH!" Zack cried in high glee, drawing the attention of the whole class.

Vincent couldn't help but to chuckle softly as he saw the overjoyed raven-haired teen bouncing delightfully around the classroom. Everyone could tell that Zack was a super good mood right now. The teen had never been such hyper during math class as supposedly, he should be hating it.

"Well, congratulations on passing your test, Fair. But since we're going to start the lesson right now, could you quiet down a bit and return back to your seat?"

"Sir, yes sir!" Zack saluted his teacher with the hand and marched back to his seat.

Beyond Zack's expectation, Cloud wasn't sitting on his usual seat, which is the one next to Zack's, nor anywhere else in the classroom. Zack assumed the blonde was sick today since Cloud would never skip class without a legit reason. In fact, Zack was disappointed by Cloud's absence. At this moment, the ravenette desperately wanted to share his happiness with him; he wanted to brag about passing the math test in front of him. But most importantly, Zack wanted to thank Cloud for helping him in doing the revision. He'd never be able to pass any math test without aids from the blonde. Yet, Cloud was nowhere to be seen, leaving Zack no choice but to think of Cloud and how he could thank the blonde for the whole day.

The other day came quickly and again, to Zack's surprise, the seat next to him was still unoccupied like yesterday. The ravenette started to worry if Cloud was suffering from serious illness due to the long stay in cold on the previous night and lack of sleep. But soon he realized he shouldn't be worrying as the blonde was no one to him, not even a friend. However, Zack found his mind kept on drifting off to the blonde whole day long. Frustrated, the ravenette ended up admitting that he was concerned about his tutor, though he couldn't explain why, and headed to Squall's office in attempting to nose into Cloud's current situation.

The brunette seemed to be astonished when Zack suddenly appeared in his office afterschool, asking him about his classmate in a concerned manner.

"Sorry Zack, I'd like to help but I'm just as clueless as you are. But according to what Miss Gainsborough from the school office told me this morning, Cloud didn't inform the school about his absence," Squall informed his student, who seemed even more worried upon hearing the words from him.

"B-but Mr. Valentine has asked me to hand the homework to Cloud! I would be doomed if I failed to, you know… Ah, how about you give me Cloud's address so that I could drop in his place?" Zack lied. Being worried about Cloud was a fact that he'd never expected, and he didn't want anyone else to know about it.

"Well, that could be the way. But sadly, it's the school policy not to leak the student's information to anyone, including the other students…" Squall found it hard to continue as he saw the familiar-but-still-pathetic-looking puppy eyes staring at him.

"Please, Mr. Leonhart ! I don't wanna get scolded! I promise I won't tell anyone about this, okay? Pleaseeeeeeeeee-"

"Argh, fine! I go ask the office lady now. Stay here and don't rummage around in my office!" the brunette commanded before leaving the room.

After seeing his teacher left in hurry, a small smirk promptly crept across Zack's face. He was so proud of himself that he'd never failed in lying. He personally thought that he was born an actor.

Some while later, Squall returned with a small piece of paper in hand.

"I've written down Cloud's address on this. I think it may take you around 20 minutes to reach his place. Help me to send my regards to him," Squall began, handing the scrap of paper to Zack.

Zack thanked Squall for his help before leaving the office. As soon as Zack closed the door behind him, he rushed down the hallway like a bolt of lightning. The ravenette didn't even realize he was clenching and his fist gripping.


End file.
